Myth and National Identity in Nineteenth-Century Britain

Myth and National Identity in Nineteenth-Century Britain PDF Author: Stephanie Barczewski
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191542733
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 290

Book Description
Scholars have become increasingly interested in how modern national consciousness comes into being through fictional narratives. Literature is of particular importance to this process, for it is responsible for tracing the nations evolution through glorious tales of its history. In nineteenth-century Britain, the legends of King Arthur and Robin Hood played an important role in construction of contemporary national identity. These two legends provide excellent windows through which to view British culture, because they provide very different perspectives. King Arthur and Robin Hood have traditionally been diametrically opposed in terms of their ideological orientation. The former is a king, a man at the pinnacle of the social and political hierarchy, whereas the latter is an outlaw, and is therefore completely outside conventional hierarchical structures. The fact that two such different figures could simultaneously function as British national heroes suggests that nineteenth-century British nationalism did not represent a single set of values and ideas, but rather that it was forced to assimilate a variety of competing points of view.

National Identity in Great Britain and British North America, 1815-1851

National Identity in Great Britain and British North America, 1815-1851 PDF Author: Linda E. Connors
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN: 9781409427704
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 254

Book Description
Examining the complex world of print culture in the nineteenth century, Connors and MacDonald show how periodicals in the United Kingdom and British North America shaped and promoted ideals about national identity. The authors' striking history of an understudied period in the history of print culture sheds light on the underlying myth of British transcendence and progress that emerged with such force and appeal after 1815.

Writing the Early Modern English Nation

Writing the Early Modern English Nation PDF Author: Herbert Grabes
Publisher: Rodopi
ISBN: 9789042015258
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 218

Book Description
While there is overwhelming evidence that nationalism reached its peak in the later nineteenth century, views about when precisely national thinking and sentiment became strong enough to override all other forms of collective unity differ considerably. When one looks for the historical moment when the concept of the nation became a serious - and subsequently victorious - competitor to the monarchic dynasty as the most effective principle of collective unity, one must, at least for England, go back as far as the sixteenth century. The decisive change occurred when a split between the dynastic ruler and "England" could be widely conceived of and intensely felt, a split that established the nation as an autonomous - and more precious - body. Whereas such a differentiation between king and country was still imperceptible under Henry VIII, it was already an historical reality during the reign of Queen Mary. That the most important factors in this radical change were the Reformation and the printing press is by now well known. The particular aim of this volume is to demonstrate the pivotal role of pamphleteering - and the growing importance of public opinion in a steadily widening sense - within the process of the historical emergence of the concept of the nation as a culturally and politically guiding force. When it came to the voicing of dissident opinions, above all under Queen Mary and later during the reign of King James and Charles I, the printed pamphlet proved to be a far superior form of communication. This does not mean that books played no role in the early development and dissemination of the concept of an English nation. Especially the compendious new English histories written at the time did much to support the growth of cultural identity.

Folklore and Nationalism in Europe During the Long Nineteenth Century

Folklore and Nationalism in Europe During the Long Nineteenth Century PDF Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004211837
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 439

Book Description
Using an interdisciplinary approach, this book brings together work in the fields of History, Literary Studies, Music and Architecture to examine the place of folklore and representations of ‘the people’ in the development of nations across Europe during the nineteenth century.

Films and British National Identity

Films and British National Identity PDF Author: Jeffrey Richards
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 9780719047435
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 404

Book Description
This book seeks to examine the ways in which the cinema has defined, mythified and disseminated British national identity during the course of the twentieth century. It takes the form of a series of linked essays which examine chronologically, thematically and by specific case studies of films, stars and genres the complexities and ambiguities in the process of evolution and definition of the national identity. It argues for the creation of a distinctive British national identity both in cinema and the wider culture. But it also assesses the creation of alternative identities both ethnic and regional and examines the interaction of cinema and other cultural forms (music, literature and television).

The Nation Made Real

The Nation Made Real PDF Author: Anthony D. Smith
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199662975
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 233

Book Description
Focusing on national identity in the Netherlands, France, and Britian, The Nation Made Real offers an original interpretation of the role of visual art in the making of nations in Western Europe.

National Identity and the Agrarian Republic

National Identity and the Agrarian Republic PDF Author: Professor Manuela Albertone
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN: 1472421388
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 342

Book Description
With a few exceptions, historiography has paid little attention to the impact of French economic thought during the American Revolution, focusing instead on the Revolution’s links with Britain. This book outlines how, from the mid-eighteenth to the early-nineteenth century, the political and social dimension of French economic thought, and particularly of Physiocracy, spurred American Republicans to a radical shaping of American agrarian ideology. Such a perspective allows for a reconsideration of several questions that lie at the heart of contemporary historiographic debate: the connection between politics and economics; the meaning of republicanism; the foundations of representation; the role of Europe in the Atlantic world; and the interaction between national histories and global context. In particular, the research methodology adopted here makes it possible to reconstruct how American national identity, conceived as an expression of society in economic terms, emerged through a cosmopolitan way of thinking focused on the uniqueness of the new state.

Myths and Nationhood

Myths and Nationhood PDF Author: George Schopflin
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136677178
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
First Published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The Making of English National Identity

The Making of English National Identity PDF Author: Krishan Kumar
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107320097
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 446

Book Description
Why is English national identity so enigmatic and so elusive? Why, unlike the Scots, Welsh, Irish and most of continental Europe, do the English find it so difficult to say who they are? The Making of English National Identity, first published in 2003, is a fascinating exploration of Englishness and what it means to be English. Drawing on historical, sociological and literary theory, Krishan Kumar examines the rise of English nationalism and issues of race and ethnicity from earliest times to the present day. He argues that the long history of the English as an imperial people has, as with other imperial people like the Russians and the Austrians, developed a sense of missionary nationalism which in the interests of unity and empire has necessitated the repression of ordinary expressions of nationalism. Professor Kumar's lively and provocative approach challenges readers to reconsider their pre-conceptions about national identity and who the English really are.

Foundations of National Identity

Foundations of National Identity PDF Author: Josep R. Llobera
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 9781845450427
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 230

Book Description
Since it emergence in the 19th century in response to feudalism, nationalism has been a mixed blessing. Originally seen as a positive force, often enough it has resulted in warfare and persecution of minorities, so much so that, over time, it has been considered a social evil whose apparent decline has been greeted as a positive development. The author disputes this or rather, he maintains that the picture that emerges is more complex: nationalism is not disappearing but has taken on a different form. What we are experiencing is an increasing autonomy of ethnonations, i.e. nations without a state, in the wake of a weakening of the multinational states and the transfer of their sovereignty upwards, in the case of Europe to the federation of the European Union, and downwards to the "ethnonations." Catalonia is the major case study in this book but it is embedded in a comprehensive theoretical framework as well as the historical and contemporary reality of Europe, opening up a new perspective. The author, one of the foremost scholars in this field, brilliantly succeeds in developing an original, clear and comprehensive vision of nationalism that is accessible to a wide readership.